2026 Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest Celebration
Saturday, July 25 | 11 am | The ARC
Free | Online & In-Person | Winona, MN
WINONA, MN — The Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest will announce the winners of the 2026 contest in a fun celebration hosted in person and online. The public is invited to attend on Saturday, July 25 th at 11:00am at the ARC, in partnership with the Great River Shakespeare Festival. (The event can also be viewed online on the Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest’s Facebook page.) The program will feature this year’s winning sonnets being read either over Zoom by the winning poets or in person by actors from the Great River Shakespeare Festival. Refreshments from the Blue Heron Coffeehouse will be provided at this free event. The winning sonnets will then be published on the website: sonnetcontest.org.
What started as a local contest sponsored by Winona’s First Poet Laureate and the Great River Shakespeare Festival now brings the world to Winona! The 2026 contest drew entries from 14 countries plus 43 states in the U.S. We received 670 sonnets from 196 adults and 51 in the youth category. Prizes totaling $3,200 were awarded in the following categories: Top Four, Regional (4), Youth (4), and Laureates’ Choice (16).
About the Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest:
The Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest is an annual event that welcomes entries from around the world to Winona. The contest honors the memory of Maria W. Faust: a Winona State University graduate in Communications; a twenty-year resident of Winona; an avid supporter of varied local arts; and a lover of poetry. Ted Haaland, who passed away in 2024, endowed the contest to live on with the goal of keeping Maria’s love of poetry alive in our community and beyond.
The contest judges are Winona’s Poets Laureate James Armstrong, Ken McCullough, and Emilio DeGrazia, and Leslie Schultz of Northfield, MN. Heidi Bryant is the Managing Director and Johanna Rupprecht provides administrative support. Great River Shakespeare Festival is a partner and River Arts Alliance acts as the fiscal sponsor.
To learn more about the Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest, please visit sonnetcontest.org or email entries@sonnetcontest.org.